The Representation of the Theater of the AbsurdThroughout literature, much has been assumed and gathered about the state of man and his purpose in life. Various poets, novelists and playwrights have used the powerful tools of language to broadcast their respective statements to the literate world. Many authors stand out for their overly romanticized or horribly pessimistic notations on life, but only Samuel Beckett stands out for his portrait of absence. As Democritus, a Greek philosopher, said, “nothing is more real than nothing,” a quote that became one of Beckett's favorites and a source of inspiration for his masterful plays (Hughes 1). Beckett's works have amazed many people with their complete divergence from the typical basis of a play. His blatant disregard for traditional concepts of character development, setting, time, and sequence of events distinguishes Beckett's plays from a myriad of thematic dramas. Because of these breaks from the standard, the message of Beckett's plays rings clear. In his groundbreaking play Waiting for Godot, Beckett describes two men, Estragon and Vladimir, who arrive at a rock and a tree on the side of a road and wait in vain for an unknown "Godot" day after day, idly chatting and meeting with casualness. another pair of characters, Pozzo and Lucky, who pass by daily. His next play, Endgame, creates a similar scenario with a blind, chair-bound man, Hamm, and his servant friend, Clov, stuck in a room characterized only by two tall windows and two ashtrays housing Hamm's parents, Nagg and Nell. These unusual plays perfectly represent the American theater of the absurd. In Waiting for Godot and Endgame, Samuel Beckett expertly integrates a maverick setting and dual character...... middle of paper ......read Carmel Mendelson. Flight. 6. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1976. 47. Mayoux, Jean-Jaques. Samuel Beckett. 1974. 48. Rpt. in contemporary literary criticism. Ed. Sharon Gunter. Flight. 18. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1981. 41-43. McDaniels, Daryl. "Critical essay on 'Endgame'." Student DramaVol. 18. Gale, 2003. Murray, Edward. Cinematographic Imagination: Writers and MotionPictures. 1972. Rep. in contemporary literary criticism.Ed. Carolyn Riley and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson. Flight. 6. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1976. 36. Campbell 8Schlueter, June. “Didi and Gogo, Hamm and Clov by Beckett.” Metafictional Characters in Modern Drama 1977. 53-69. Rep. in Contemporary literary criticism. Ed. Sharon Gunter. Flight. 18.Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1981. 43-46.